Monday, January 23, 2006
(11:13 PM) | Adam Kotsko:
The Powers Inherent in the President
Hypothetical situation. First of all, let's assume that we were living in a country with a legitimate president. Second, let's say that he's somehow just walking down my street, unaccompanied by Secret Service agents.Were he to order me to do something under these circumstances, would there be the same presumptive obligation to obey that exists in the case of a police officer? Could the president of the United States, qua president, place me under arrest?
From reading Article III of The Constitution, my first impression is that the answer to both is no: the president sees to it that the laws are enforced but is not, qua president, a law enforcement officer. But that's just my first impression -- I want to hear from people who might actually know.
A related question: What if it was the governor of Illinois walking down the street rather than the president?
